The act implements the recommendations of the department of regulatory agencies (department) contained in the department's 2023 sunset review of the state board of licensure for architects, professional engineers, and professional land surveyors (board). The act: Continues the regulation of architects, professional engineers, and professional land surveyors for 9 years, until September 1, 2033; Includes in the grounds for discipline of licensees a failure to respond to the allegations of a complaint within the length of time specified by the board; Updates statutory references to the names of examinations for professional engineers and professional land surveyors; Repeals the requirement that board members be citizens of the United States and residents of Colorado; Repeals the requirement that applicants supply a business address on a license application; Grants the board rule-making authority to establish continuing education requirements; Removes the ability of an individual to obtain a license as an architect, professional engineer, or professional land surveyor or a qualification as a land surveyor-intern through the occupational credential portability program; Requires an applicant for licensure by endorsement as an architect to hold a license in good standing from another jurisdiction with qualification requirements that are substantially equivalent to the qualification requirements in this state; and Makes a technical amendment to replace gendered pronouns with gender-neutral terms. APPROVED by Governor June 3, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
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Section 20 of article X of the state constitution (TABOR) defines "fiscal year spending" as not including "collections for another government". Although TABOR does not define "collections for another government", the TABOR implementing statutes do. The definition of "collections for another government" in the implementing statutes specifically limits such collections to revenue collected by the state for the benefit of another government that is collected pursuant to the authority of the other government. The act clarifies the definition of "collections for another government" set forth in the TABOR implementing statutes for purposes of the TABOR limitation on state fiscal year spending. For state fiscal years commencing on or after July 1, 2023, "collections for another government" means any revenue that is collected by the state for the benefit and use of a government other than the state, passed through to that government for the benefit of and use by that government, and collected pursuant to: The authority of the government for whose benefit the state collects the revenue; The authority of the state and apportioned to another government in connection with that government forgoing the imposition of certain taxes and collecting the corresponding tax revenue; or A constitutional requirement that the state collect the revenue for the benefit of another government. APPROVED by Governor June 3, 2024 EFFECTIVE June 3, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act directs the department of health care policy and financing (state department) to conduct a feasibility study (study) to explore seeking federal authorization to provide nutrition, housing, and tenant supportive services that address medicaid members' health-related social needs (HRSN). The state department shall report the study's findings to the joint budget committee on or before November 10, 2024. The study and report must address integrating HRSN services with existing nutrition-related, housing-related, and tenant supportive services. The act requires the state department to seek federal authorization to provide HRSN services no later than July 1, 2025, if seeking federal authorization would be budget neutral to the general fund. The act appropriates $222,920 from the general fund to the state department for use by the executive director's office (office). From this appropriation, the office may use $67,070 for personal services, $3,975 for operating expenses, and $151,875 for general professional services and special projects. The act anticipates that the state department will receive $222,919 in federal funds for the act's implementation. APPROVED by Governor June 3, 2024 EFFECTIVE June 3, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires the state auditor to engage, by October 1, 2024, a third party to conduct an evaluation of the department of corrections' (department) budget practices. The third party is required to provide an update to the joint budget committee and the legislative audit committee by March 1, 2025 and to release a final report to the department, joint budget committee, and legislative audit committee by June 30, 2025. The evaluation must review the department's personnel-related costs, contract staff spending, operational costs driven by caseload, user fees levied, and the cash funds associated with the department. For state fiscal year 2024-25, the act appropriates $400,000 from the general fund to the legislative department for use by the office of the state auditor to implement the act. APPROVED by Governor June 3, 2024 EFFECTIVE June 3, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under current law, employers pay an annual support surcharge to fund unemployment administration and to support the solvency of the unemployment insurance trust fund. This surcharge is deposited into several different funds. The act adjusts the deposits as follows: 35% (decreased from 59.46%) to the employment support fund; 19% (increased from 18.92%) to the benefit recovery fund; 32% (increased from 21.62%) to the employment and training technology fund; and 14% to the workforce development fund in the workforce development enterprise (enterprise), which is created in the act. Each of these funds has a limit on the maximum amount of money that can be held in the fund. The act requires the maximum amount to be adjusted for inflation based on the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood consumer price index. The act adjusts these initial caps as follows: Decreases the cap for the employment support fund from $32,000,000 to $7,000,000; Decreases the cap for the employment and training technology fund from $31,000,000 to $13,200,000; and Establishes the cap for the workforce development fund at $6,800,000. The $15,000,000 cap for the benefit recovery fund remains the same. The enterprise is created within the division of employment and training in the department of labor and employment (division) for the business purpose of ensuring Coloradans' access to workforce development services and to Colorado's workforce development centers. The act appropriates $14,003,304 to the department of labor and employment from the workforce development fund for use by the division for workforce center program costs related to the enterprise. APPROVED by Governor May 31, 2024 EFFECTIVE June 15, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires the judicial department to collect, compile, and publish online, on a monthly basis, aggregate residential eviction data for all forcible entry and detainer actions filed in each county in the immediately preceding month. The judicial department shall make individual case level residential eviction data available upon request from a qualified entity. The act requires the complaint for an eviction action to be filed using a standard form that is available through the judicial department's website and include the street address and the zip code; except that a court must accept a complaint that does not use the standardized form if the complaint meets the requirements of this section. For the 2024-25 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $136,122 from the general fund to the judicial department for use by courts administration. APPROVED by Governor May 31, 2024 EFFECTIVE May 31, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act relocates the just transition office (office) from the division of employment and training in the department of labor and employment to the office of the executive director of the department of labor and employment. The act changes the deadline for the office to expend money in the just transition cash fund (fund) from state fiscal year 2023-24 to state fiscal year 2029-30. The act modifies the types of programs that the office supports using money from the fund. APPROVED by Governor May 31, 2024 EFFECTIVE May 31, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires a court to award reasonable attorney fees to a prevailing governmental entity in an action for judicial review of a local land use decision involving residential use with a net project density of 5 dwelling units per acre or more, except for an action brought by the land use applicant before the governmental entity. Filing an action for judicial review of a local land use decision does not affect the validity of the local land use decision. The act authorizes a governmental entity and the public to rely on the local land use decision in good faith for all purposes until the action for judicial review is resolved. APPROVED by Governor May 30, 2024 EFFECTIVE May 30, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act increases the amounts of the affordable housing tax credit that the Colorado housing and finance authority may allocate to qualified taxpayers by: $20,000,000 for credits allocated in 2024; $16,000,000 for credits allocated in 2025; $12,000,000 for credits allocated in 2026; $12,000,000 for credits allocated in 2027; $16,000,000 for credits allocated in 2028; $20,000,000 for credits allocated in 2029; $20,000,000 for credits allocated in 2030; and $20,000,000 for credits allocated in 2031. The act accelerates the credit by requiring that a qualified taxpayer claim 70% of the total amount of the credit in the first year of the credit period and claim 6% of the total amount of the credit in each of the second through sixth years of the credit period. The act also creates the Colorado affordable housing in transit-oriented communities income tax credit (tax credit). The tax credit is refundable and administered in the same manner as the Colorado affordable housing tax credit; except that the tax credit: Is awarded in connection with qualified low-income housing projects in certified transit-oriented communities; Must be claimed over a 5-year credit period; and Must be claimed in an accelerated manner such that 70% of the total amount of the tax credit is claimed in the first year of the credit period, 8% in both the second and third years, and 7% in both the fourth and final years. The act allows the following tax credit amounts to be awarded: $2,000,000 for the 2025 calendar year; $2,000,000 for the 2026 calendar year; $2,000,000 for the 2027 calendar year; $11,000,000 for the 2028 calendar year; and $13,000,000 for the 2029 calendar year. The act reduces the amount of money transferred to the housing development grant fund by $35 million for state fiscal year 2024-25 through 2031-32. APPROVED by Governor May 30, 2024 EFFECTIVE May 30, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates a refundable state income tax credit (incentive) to encourage enrollment in institutions of higher education. For income tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2025, but prior to January 1, 2033, the incentive is available to an eligible student who has matriculated at any public Colorado institution of higher education, including an area technical college, Colorado mountain college, or AIMS community college (institution), in the amount equal to the amount paid by or for the benefit of the eligible student in tuition and fees minus any scholarships or grants with respect to the qualifying semesters, during which up to the first 65 academic credit hours or equivalent are accumulated at an institution, excluding credits earned through concurrent enrollment, advanced placement, the international baccalaureate program, military credits, and any other credits accumulated prior to matriculation at an institution. To qualify, an eligible student must: Matriculate at the institution within 2 years of completion of high school graduation or an equivalent in Colorado; Be designated as a degree or credential seeking student for the semester or term for which an incentive is claimed; Qualify for in-state tuition for the semester or term for which the incentive is claimed; Complete a free application for federal student aid (FAFSA) or Colorado application for state financial aid (CASFA) for the semester or term for which an incentive is claimed that indicates the student's household has an adjusted gross income that is $90,000 or less; and Earn at least 6 credit hours or equivalent with a grade point average of 2.5 or higher for the semester or term for which the incentive is claimed. The act requires an institution, by January 15, 2026, and every January 15 thereafter through 2033, to electronically report each eligible student for any qualifying semester or term completed during the academic year completed during the prior calendar year in a format prescribed by the department of higher education (department) with the student's tax identification number or social security number and the amount of tuition and fees paid minus any scholarship or grants for that prior calendar year. The act requires an institution to provide each eligible student with a statement containing the student's eligibility and incentive amount. The department is required to electronically report the information received from the institutions, with any corrections and additions, to the department of revenue to allow administration of the incentive. The department, in consultation with institutions, is required to determine each institution's average percentage of state and institutional financial aid allocated to the resident student population who have a family income of $90,000 or less in each year of the 3 years prior to 2025, and each Colorado public institution of higher education is required to maintain a percentage of state and institutional financial aid to resident students who have an adjusted gross household income of $90,000 or less that is equal to or greater than the average percentage calculated. An institution that does not maintain the percentage is required to notify the department and must include in the notification a description of changes to institutional finances or the student population that prevented the institution from maintaining the percentage. On or before June 30, 2027, and each year thereafter until 2037, the department is required to submit a report to the joint budget committee and the house of representatives and senate education committees, that includes among other data, for each institution, the average percentage of state and institutional financial aid allocated to the resident student population who have a family income of $90,000 or less in the academic years 2021-2022 through 2033-34. For the 2024-25 state fiscal year, $101,756 is appropriated from the general fund to the department of higher education for use by the Colorado commission on higher education and higher education special purpose programs to implement the act. APPROVED by Governor May 30, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)